Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mum, you must come and see the daffodils(水仙花)before they are over.”

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Lake Arrowhead. "I will go next Tuesday," I promised, a little unwillingly, on her third call.

The next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked

into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible (看不见的) in the cloud and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this weather all the time, Mum. You will never forgive

yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read "Daffodil Garden"? We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a comer of the path, and I looked up amazed. Before me lay the most beautiful sight. Flows of flowers of different colors seemed poured down the peak and slopes. There were five acres of flowers! A seas of daffodil! It was like a fairyland all beyond description.

"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. "It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. That's her home, "Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio (露台), we saw a poster." Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs (鳞茎)" it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

I thought of this woman whom I Had never met, who, more than fifty years before, had begun-one bulb

at a time-to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top. Just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world where she lived and created something of magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small amounts of daily effort, we too can accomplish great things. Everyone can do something to change the world.

1.The writer wasn’t going to see the daffodils at first because ______.

A. she cared more about the children

B. they were on a remote mountain top

C. the weather was not good enough

D. it was not easy for her to drive there

2. What do we know from the passage about the woman who grew daffodil?

A. She must have been a modest woman

B. She worked as a professional gardener

C. She grew the daffodils over 50 years by herself

D. Being poor, she made a living by selling daffodils

3. What has the writer learned from this experience?

A. It’s never too late to learn

B. Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it

C. People can change the world where they live by growing flowers

D. Accumulation of small steps may lead to something magnificent

4.Which may be the best title for the passage?

A. An Unforgettable Experience

B. A woman and Daffodils

C. The Daffodil Garden

D. One bulb grown, magnificence dawns

LONDON(AP)---A suburban house that starred onscreen as Harry Potter’s childhood home is on the market---complete with a cupboard under the stairs.

Fans of the boy wizard will recognize 12 Picket Post Close as 4 Privet Drive, home of Harry’s cruel aunt and uncle, the Dursleys.

The couple unwillingly took Harry in after his parents were murdered and made him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs.

The house in Bracknell, 30 miles(50 kilometers)west of London, was a location featured in the 2001 film “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” A studio set of the house was built for later films of the eight series.

Real estate agency Chancellors(房地产公司总代理)says the three-bedroom house has recently been made over to an extremely high standard.” It’s listed at a price of 475,000 pounds$616,000.)” Real estate agent Paul Bosanko said, “the original plan was to take this property to market without using any reference to Harry Potter. But since news of the connection got out, interest has shot up, and that may or may not influence the final price that we achieve at this property,” Bosanko said.

Neighbor Karen Field said that the house still attracts Potter fans a decade-and-a-half after the film crews left. When the movie first came out, “there were tour buses, literally tour buses coming down the road,” Field said. “It’s a lot quieter now,” she said. “School holidays, you still get people coming along.”

1. What is the news mainly about?

A. 12 Picket Post Close in Bracknell for sale

B. Harry Potter’s s childhood home

C. Visits to Harry Potter’s home

D. Films of Harry Potter at 4 Privet Drive

2.What happened to the suburban house west of London?

A. Harry Potter lived in it in his childhood

B. Harry Potter series were all filmed here

C. It was modeled on as a studio set later

D. It was sold at a price of 475,000 pounds

3.What is not true with the house?

A. It is now on the market

B. It belongs to the Dursleys

C. It was related to Harry Potter

D. Potter fans keep coming to it

Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored(监控)in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people’s e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.

“The ‘if it bleeds’ rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. “They want your eyeballs and don’t care how you’re feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”

Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication—e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations—found that it tended to be more positive than negative(消极的), but that didn’t necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times’ website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the “most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times’ readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.

Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused(激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”

1.What do the classic rules mentioned in the text apply to?

A. News reports.

B. Research papers.

C .Private e-mails.

D. Daily conversations．

2.What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer?

A. They’re socially inactive.

B. They’re good at telling stories.

C. They’re inconsiderate of others.

D. They’re careful with their words.

3.Which tended to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger’s research?

A. Sports new.

B. Science articles.

C. Personal accounts.

D. Financial reviews.

4.What can be a suitable title for the text?

A. Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide

B. Online News Attracts More People

C. Reading Habits Change with the Times

D. Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks

Whenever we see a button, we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the “on/off” button on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the “close” button on a lift.

Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don’t have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts’ “close” buttons are a complete scam (骗局), at least in the US － the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren’t completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control.

“Perceived (能够感知的) control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well-being,” Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said, “ having a lack of control is associated with depression.”

Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don’t do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats (温度调节器) because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”, they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

“That habit is here to stay,” John Kounios, a psychology professor, said. “Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I’ve got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work?”

1. What was the author’s main purpose in writing the article?

A. To analyze the functions of fake buttons.

B. To describe some different kinds of fake buttons.

C. To explain the advantages and disadvantages of fake buttons.

D. To explore people’s different habits when it comes to pushing buttons.

2. In America, the “close” buttons on lifts _______.

A. are fake for the convenience of disabled people

B. work only when people press them hard for a while

C. were specially designed to give people a sense of control

D. cannot speed up the process of closing the door in any case

3. The underlined part “for this same purpose” in Paragraph 6 refers to _______.

A. making people more patient

B. giving people perceived control

C. helping people to build up confidence

D. making people with depression feel better

4.According to John Kounios, people who press fake buttons ______.

A. should give up this habit

B. probably do so to kill time

C. consider what they do to be meaningless

D. don’t know that what they press is fake

第二节 根据短文内容，从短文后选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Much meaning can be conveyed clearly with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.

__ 36In a bus you may look at a stranger, but not for too long. And if he sensed that you are staring at him, he may feel uncomfortable.

The same is true in our daily life. If you are stared at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you.37. Eyes do speak, right？

Looking too long at someone may seem to be rude and aggressive.38. If a man stares at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to look away from her, his intentions are obvious. He wishes to attract her attention, and let her know that he is admiring her.

However, when two persons are engaged in a conversation, the speaker will only look into the listener’s eyes from time to time to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what the former is speaking. 39 If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking as if he trying to control you, you will feel awkward. A poor liar usually expose s himself by looking too long at the victim. He wrongly believes that looking straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication.40

Actually, eye contact should be made based on specific relationship and situation.

A. On the contrary, it will give him away.

B. Do you have such a kind of experience?

C. That’s what normal eye contact is all about.

D. Actually, continuous eye contact is limited to lovers only.

E. After all, everybody likes to be stared at for quite a long time.

F. But things are different when it comes to staring at the opposite sex.

G. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel annoyed at being stared at that way.

“Paul must have been trying to carry his waste paper to garbage can and dropped a few pieces.” I picking them up. later I found more pieces. No quiet sighing this time. I ,“Who is throwing garbage?” No answer. Instead, I saw more bits of paper silently floating from upstairs. Looking up, I saw my seven-year-old son, Paul.

“Stop making a mess.” “It’s not a mess. They’re .” “Sorry, what did you say?” I hadn’t heard him clearly.

He didn’t answer me. Paul has autism (自闭症) and answers a question, especially when he’s attentively on something else. He ran down the stairs. “Where are my other butterflies?” he asked, around. Every time Paul five or more words together, my heart says a of thanks. But lately he seems to that the benefits of forming complete sentences when communicating are of the effort.

Butterflies. Of course. I rushed to them from the garbage, them off and handed them to my young artist. “Want to see them again?” he asked with a shy smile. “Oh yes! They’re beautiful.” I whispered. He ran back upstairs to float his down again. They really did look like beautiful butterflies.

That day Paul me to look up at instead of down at garbage. How many other masterpieces (杰作) do I miss because I’m too caught up in my to take time to appreciate what’s right in front of me? Life is not what happens to us. It’s we look at it. Now, I look up.

1.A. laughedB. sighed C. amazedD. shouted

2.A. DaysB. Years C. MomentsD. Weeks

3.A. called out B. turned upC. got in D. added to

4. A. up B. down C. awayD. off

5.A. planesB. papers C. leaves D. butterflies

6.A. rarelyB. frequentlyC. willinglyD. eagerly

7.A. devotedB. dependedC. focusedD. addicted

8. A. showing B. lookingC. playingD. drawing

9.A. spellsB. puts C. pushes D. accumulates

10. A. soundB. remark C. report D. prayer

11.A. refuseB. hear C. mind D. realize

12.A. worthyB. aware C. fond D. typical

13. A. hide B. destroyC. rescue D. remove

14.A. tore B. dusted C. cutD. seized

15.A. throwB. flow C. land D. fly

16. A. masterpieces B. schoolworkC. inventionsD. imagination

17. A. remindedB. forced C. intended D. permitted

18. A. mistakesB. weaknessesC. beauty D. scenery

19. A. amusement B. houseworkC. communication D. homework

20.A. when B. whether C. where D. how

Music is one of the most important and powerful things in my life.1.(listen)to music can help motivate me in hard times.

When I was younger, I didn’t have the great love 2.music as I do now. I 3.(main) listened to what my parents were listening to. I didn’t have much of care for musical compositions. Whether I was in the car, the home, 4.anywhere else, there was sure to be some Beatles, Buddy Holly, or the Dubliners. Now as I’m _655.(old), I enjoy it as it allows me 6.(remember) my childhood.

I believe music 7.(have)the ability to convey all sorts of feelings. The effect that music can have on our 8.(emotion) is unbelievable, as it can bring people to floods of tears or bursts of laughter.[

I believe music affects people in many different ways. To me music is more than just 9.we listen to or play. It’s something to feel. In my life, it is music which is extremely important10. brings me closer to my friends and family. I also feel that it helps me to get through things.

第二节单词拼写：根据汉意或用括号内所给单词正确形式填空。

1. Opportunities and success tend to be in ___(有利于)of those who are ready.

2. He was ___________(推荐)for the post by a colleague.

3. He made some quite ____(合理的)points and gave a good speech.

4. I wish you wouldn’t ___(打断)me all the time.

5. Health officials have tried to raise ________(意识，觉悟)about AIDS.

第三节 句子填空

1.Your children _____ ______ ______(行为表现好).

2.Einstein ______ ________(坚持)his opinion and went on with his research.

3.It _____ ______(被想到)him that he had an important conference to attend the next morning.

4.The sound of happy laughter ______ _____(回忆起)memories of his childhood.

5.I accepted the job _____ ____(毫不犹豫).

假定英语课课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。

2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Dear Steven,

I’m glad that you coming to Beijing this summer vacation. You asked many question in your letter, and now let me answer them.

To start with , Beijing, the capital of China, is very attractive city with a long history. You can found all kinds of delicious food in Beijing, of that the most famous is the roast Beijing duck. I hope we will enjoy it. Besides, there is a great number of tourist attractions worth visiting, such as the Great Wall, the Summer Palace or the Forbidden City. These scenic spots have attracted millions of tourists in this year. I promise you will have a wonderfully time here in Beijing.

I’m looking forward to hear from you as soon as possible.

Yours,

Liu Chao